


Orange Sunsets

by Auriana Valoria (AuriV1)



Series: The Lady Herald and Her Lion [15]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Letters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-28
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-11-20 10:10:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11333664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuriV1/pseuds/Auriana%20Valoria
Summary: Inquisitor Trevelyan writes a letter home to Skyhold.





	Orange Sunsets

For Verana-Kathryn Trevelyan, the Hissing Wastes always possessed a desolate beauty that was difficult to capture in words. They were especially beautiful, however, when the gleaming dunes and archways of stone were aglow with a brilliant orange fire during the usually spectacular sunsets of the region.

The Inquisitor was rarely moved to write in any poetic or descriptive manner. She preferred to remain a reader of such words penned by much more competent authors. This evening, however, she found herself with blank parchment and quill in hand as she sat with her knees up against a boulder not far from where they had made camp. Though her present company in the Wastes was more than welcome – her dear friends Cassandra, Varric, and Dorian – she ached for the presence of another who was far, far away from her…so far that there was no way he could be witness to the same sight as she.

And so, she decided to write it down and send it to him, so that he could at least imagine what she saw.

_My beloved Cullen,_

_We have sent reports of our success here in the Hissing Wastes, and I hope that you find such news heartening. However, there is something else I wish to convey to you that I felt should be excluded from my official correspondence...something for my love, and not my Commander._

_The Wastes are dangerous, and if it isn’t the Venatori and Red Templars crawling out of the rocks like cockroaches, it’s the native creatures trying to make a fine meal out of us. But there is also a beauty here like I have seen nowhere else in Thedas, and it makes me wish you were here to see it with me._

_It is quieter here than in the Western Approach, and the days are not plagued with the same winds we had to fight to prepare for Adamant. We are able to set up camp earlier than after dark, and thus we are also able to witness sunsets like you have never seen. The sands are golden seas, glittering like diamonds when the light hits just right, and the stone formations that stand silent watch are lined with fire wherever the sun touches. Sometimes, they look like molten statues, they shine so brightly. The sky is every shade of orange imaginable, from pale peaches to rich russets, and if the clouds happen to be spaced correctly, they look like islands floating on the horizon. It is breathtaking to behold, and somehow the sight of it fills me with hope. As if, if there can yet be such wondrous glory in such a hostile environment, then what light is left in the world can indeed beat back the encroaching darkness._

_All of this happens in the space of a few minutes. Even now, as I write this, the fire in the sky has given way to soft pinks and purples, and before long, there will be nothing but blackness above, expansive and deep and filled with countless twinkling stars._

_I am sure that others could say it much better than I, but I wanted to share this moment with you before I lost the words… not in body, perhaps, but most certainly in spirit._

_Please know, however, that as much beauty as I find in this harsh and lonely place, there is nothing more beautiful than your welcome home. I am eager to return to Skyhold, and I look forward to our departure from the Wastes._

_Forever yours,_

_Verana_


End file.
